clarinews@clarinet.com (JOE CIALINI, UPI Sports Writer) (02/02/90)
PHILADELPHIA (UPI) -- Not many one-goal decisions have gone the Philadelphia Flyers' way this season. Heading into Thursday night's game against the Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia had lost its last 12 contests decided by one goal, six of them in the no-longer-so-friendly confines of the Spectrum. In fact, Philadelphia's record at home this season was a woeful 10-13-1 with 10 of the defeats coming by one goal. The Flyers turned both trends around Thursday night with a 2-1 victory over the Whalers, giving Philadelphia back-to-back wins for the first time in two months and a 5-17 record in one-goal games this season. ``A lot of games in this league are being decided by one goal,'' Ken Linseman said. ``If you want to get anywhere, you have to win one-goal games.'' Ilkka Sinisalo gave the Flyers the one goal they needed when he broke a second-period tie. Sinisalo's 14th goal of the season came at 17:50 of the period as he caught a pass from Keith Acton, dropped the puck at his feet and flipped a backhand shot past goaltender Mike Liut. ``I didn't have too much to shoot at so I faked a shot, put it on my backhand and had an open net,'' Sinisalo said. The Flyers, who are 3-9-3 in their last 15 games, last won back-to-back contests on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 1989. ``It's a character builder,'' Philadelphia Coach Paul Holmgren said. ``We can do a lot of things better ... but it's a building block.'' Sinisalo was left alone in front of the net as two Whalers converged on Tim Kerr, whose 11th goal of the season had tied the score at 1-1 at 1:29 of the second period. Kerr was in front of the net when he took a pass from Pelle Eklund and fired the puck between Liut's legs. Sinisalo set up that goal when he carried the puck behind the net and passed it to Eklund. ``Tim means a lot to the team,'' Holmgren said. ``His offense and what he can give us are things you can't forget about when he's on the ice.'' Kerr missed 31 games this season after undergoing his sixth shoulder operation but has four goals in the six games since he returned to the lineup. ``He makes such a difference to this team because of his ability to stand in front of the net and take punishment,'' Terry Carkner said. ``He's the sole reason we're starting to turn it around.'' Philadelphia goaltender Ken Wregget stopped 25 shots, including six in the final period. ``He played great,'' Holmgren said. ``In the game in Pittsburgh (a 6-3 win on Tuesday night), he saved us in the first period. He's played two good games back to back.'' Liut, who made 32 saves, was playing in his first game since Dec. 20 after missing 15 contests because of knee surgery. ``My knee really didn't bother me at all,'' Liut said. ``I was just trying not to think about it.'' The Whalers took advantage of a five-on-three power play to take a 1-0 lead on rookie Brad Shaw's first goal at 18:03 of the first period. Eklund was without his stick when Kevin Dineen passed the puck from the corner to Shaw in front of the net and Shaw lifted a shot over Wregget's shoulder. The Flyers failed to capitalize on a two-man advantage of their own earlier in the period as Liut stopped four shots to keep Philadelphia off the scoreboard. Hartford Coach Rick Ley said a pair of lapses in the second period cost his team the game. ``We killed ourselves in the second period,'' he said. ``It's frustrating for any coach to see. It was a 50-second game.''